DINEPA, Haiti’s office for the National Administration of Sanitation and Drinking Water announced that it will no longer distribute drinking water to 17 of the Port-au-Prince camps for the internally displaced. Thus the homeless are being starved of drinking water after the brutal eviction of half their number (population reduced from over 1.2 million to about 600,000) from the camps. DC

Port-au-Prince – The office for the National Administration of Sanitation and Drinking Water (DINEPA) announced this Friday, November 4th, that it is ending its free distribution of water to 17 of the camps for displaced people in the metropolitan area of the capital Port-au-Prince.

This ordinance will go into effect starting now through November 30, 2011, said a statement.

According to DINEPA officials who claim to have warned the population affected by this measure, this decision is due to the depletion of funds that had been available for the free distribution of water.

Seven of the 17 identified camps are in the town of Delmas (Delmas 33, north of Port-au-Prince). The rest are divided between the area of Cite militaire (north), Clercine (northeast), and Bel-Air (large popular neighborhood overlooking the Presidential Palace in the northeast of the capital), among others.

Access to safe drinking water is one of the biggest challenges that Haiti faces, especially since the appearance of cholera on October 19, 2010 in the Central Plateau and Artibonite.

At a time when solutions to poor housing are hardly materializing for the victims of the January 2010 earthquake, who still number 600,000 in the camps, this decision from DINEPA causes one to fear for the worst.

The government agency says it is still on track to continue its program for supplying drinking water to other areas, so as to facilitate the process of improving the living conditions for the population.

DINEPA, Haiti’s office for the National Administration of Sanitation and Drinking Water announced that it will no longer distribute drinking water to 17 of the Port-au-Prince camps for the internally displaced. Thus the homeless are being starved of drinking water after the brutal eviction of half their number (population reduced from over 1.2 million to about 600,000) from the camps. DC

By Staff (jep kft rc apr)AlterPresse (French) | Haiti Chery (English)

Translated from the French by Dady Chery.

Port-au-Prince – The office for the National Administration of Sanitation and Drinking Water (DINEPA) announced this Friday, November 4th, that it is ending its free distribution of water to 17 of the camps for displaced people in the metropolitan area of the capital Port-au-Prince.

This ordinance will go into effect starting now through November 30, 2011, said a statement.

According to DINEPA officials who claim to have warned the population affected by this measure, this decision is due to the depletion of funds that had been available for the free distribution of water.

Seven of the 17 identified camps are in the town of Delmas (Delmas 33, north of Port-au-Prince). The rest are divided between the area of Cite militaire (north), Clercine (northeast), and Bel-Air (large popular neighborhood overlooking the Presidential Palace in the northeast of the capital), among others.

Access to safe drinking water is one of the biggest challenges that Haiti faces, especially since the appearance of cholera on October 19, 2010 in the Central Plateau and Artibonite.

At a time when solutions to poor housing are hardly materializing for the victims of the January 2010 earthquake, who still number 600,000 in the camps, this decision from DINEPA causes one to fear for the worst.

The government agency says it is still on track to continue its program for supplying drinking water to other areas, so as to facilitate the process of improving the living conditions for the population.

About Dady Chery

Dr. Dady Chery is a Haitian-born journalist, playwright, essayist, and poet. She is the author of "We Have Dared to Be Free: Haiti's Struggle Against Occupation." Her broad interests encompass science, culture, and human rights. She writes extensively about Haiti and world issues such as climate change and social justice. Her many contributions to Haitian news include the first proposal that Haiti’s cholera had been imported by the UN, and the first story describing Haiti’s mineral wealth.